Category Archives: Human Rights

Philanthropy is characterized by donations ranging from working hours, money or anything that contributes to a positive change in the society. However, Money characterizes much of the philanthropy work done by wealthy individuals. Information released shows that the self-made billionaire and hedge manager, George Soros, has donated $18 billion towards philanthropy. The amount is among the most substantial donations made by a private donor. The contributions have been made through his Open Society foundations over the past several years. According to the New York Times, the donations have elevated OSF into the second-largest charity organization in the States after Bill Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mr. Soros founded OSF more than three decades ago. The Organization has been instrumental in the achievement of democracies in more than 120countries. Additionally, it has been on the frontline advocating for human rights. Lately, the Open Society Foundation has turned its attention to the protection of gay and lesbian rights. In 2014, after the Ebola outbreak, the organization was responsible for funding treatment centers. In 2016 USA election, there was a spike in hate crimes. George Soros contributed $10 million aimed at strengthening the institutions preventing violence. Mr. Soros has openly made donations towards political activities. In the 2016 election, he made substantial contributions to the campaign of Hillary Clinton and other Democratic politicians.

Mr. Soros live in Hungary during its occupation by the Nazis. In 1947, he left for London where studied and worked on odd jobs including at the rails. Soros would later move to the States and expand his career at Wall Street. With time, he was able to profit with most of his success coming in when he made a $ 1 billion bet against the British pound. It was in 1984 when the Titan ventured into philanthropy. He set out to promote democracy in his motherland by establishing the first Open Society Foundation. Decades later, Soros continued funding OSF to the tune of $800-$900 million annually. However, in the recent past, Mr. Soros increased his donations bringing the organization endowments to $ 18 billion. The figures were made public by the Wall Street Journal.

According to Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, OSF has made the most impact in the last two decades. He said that its global presence had enabled the foundation to influence different countries. OSF continues to work with leaders in the civil society who are subject to a second-class form of justice. The OSF additionally helps in the fight for social injustices and access to basic needs including clean drinking water. In the organization’s efforts to fight for justice, democracy, and human rights, they have penetrated countries like Asia. According to Forbes, they have exposed issues of social injustices in Asia.

In Mongolia, the Open Society Foundation supports local groups that challenge the inclusion of disabled children into the education system. As a result, activists in the country can become part of the team responsible for developing policies impacting their lives. OSF has funded startup companies aimed at benefiting the society in India. They have, most importantly, helped in the development of agriculture by introducing pay-per-use tractors. The project has helped small-scale farmers who can’t afford to buy machinery and Follow him Twitter.com.

Each person has to decide at some point in their life how they want to live, whether that choice is a conscious one or subconscious. The decision can be influenced by our upbringing, our friends, family, or coworkers. Sometimes it is for the good, and sometimes the bad. One particular person who has made it a point to fight for human rights is Thor Halvorssen.

Thor has a very fascinating upbringing as he is nearly of royal descent. Born and raised in Venezuela, his mother is a descendant of the first president of Venezuela, and his father, who is from Norway is the grandson of the king’s consul. Both of his parents at one time or another have been involved in human rights activities and have tried to help make the world a better place.

Among the many skills that Thor has learned beyond human rights activities is that he is also a film producer. He has ten films to his credit, including a few more popular ones such as 2081 and Uprising, and is currently working on Halo of Stars. He has been able to use film to also portray human rights and to show areas that need more attention.

Thor has also developed a great skill in writing, having written articles for news outlets and magazines around the world. He was able to write about an event involving his mother during a rally. His mother, while attending a peace rally in 2004 was shot. The Venezuelan government security apparatus opened fire on a crowd of people, his mother was one of those who were shot. She survived, however, one innocent bystander did not survive the deluge of bullets and Thor of resume.

Thor’s father also had a near death experience while working to infiltrate the Colombian cartel, he was captured and tortured as they believed him to be a terrorist. He survived 74 days in a Medellin jail. Thor worked with Amnesty International to help set his father free.

It is people like Thor and his family that help to make the world a better place. His actions speak louder than words.

They say that the events that we pass through as children have a lot to do with who we eventually become. This story is true for one Thor Havlorssen. Thor is a Venezuelan human rights activist who also has some Norwegian heritage. He seems to have been born to be an activist because both his parents come from a lineage of great community leaders and were also activists. When Thor was a little boy, he had to watch his father get mistreated and even jailed by a dictatorial regime in Venezuela. His mother, Hilda Mendoza, was also shot during a peaceful protest against an oppressive regime.
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What seems to have irked Thor the most regarding the incident, which he himself reported about was the fact that the perpetrators of the crime were arrested, released and even after being tried and found guilty, they were sentenced to only three years. To add salt to injury, they were released after serving a mere 3 month jail term. He realized that human rights were not applicable to all and started his movement, The Human Rights Foundation. Through the foundation, he has been able to champion the rights of individuals and human rights groups from across the globe.

Thor has been involved in a number of large scale matches, movements and events that are meant to create awareness about human rights. His annual event, The Human Rights Conference is one of the most notable annual events on the globe. He has also been directly involved with some tough situations when trying to make the voices of the people being denied their rights heard. It is to be noted that a while back, he escaped narrowly from Vietnam where he had been covering an inmate’s suffering story. His cameramen had to use tricks to hide footage of the entire ordeal.

Thor believes that the most important discussion that should be taking place in the nations should be the plight of those who are oppressed by dictatorial regimes and other complications. He states that he only respects a person based on the types of things that they believe in.